Smiles, hugs and warm wishes were the theme Friday afternoon at the Russellville Municipal Airport when a special passenger was flown in from San Antonio, Texas via the Veterans Airlift Command (VAC).

U.S. Army Spc. Chris Tarte, along with his wife Natalie and three children, Hattie, 5; Sam, 2 and Gracie Beth, 6 months, were flown from San Antonio, Texas, free of charge to the Arkansas River Valley via the VAC program so the five could visit Natalie’s family in Dardanelle.

The VAC provides free air transportation to wounded veterans and their families for medical and other purposes through a national network of volunteer aircraft owners and pilots.

Hattie was the first to depart the plane and she gave an excited wave to her grandpa Jerry Don Woods, her aunt Teresa Bland and her great-grandmother Ruth Bland before she exited the ramp.

Spc. Tarte was the last to exit the plane and for the first time since being injured during an IED explosion in Afghanistan in Oct. 2011, he didn’t have a special medical device on his left leg.

He was in the Army less than a year and only in Afghanistan for two months, when on Oct. 29, 2011, the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle he was riding in was hit an IED. The four-man crew was injured with no fatalities, and Tarte was the most severely injured.

He lost his right leg and his left leg was badly broken in 10 places.

Until two works ago, Tarte wore an external fixation device on his left leg that adjusted as his bones slowly grew back together.

After the external fixation device was removed, Tarte wore a cast, which was removed two days prior to the flight.

Tarte is stationed at Fort Sam Houston and said he expects nine more months of physical therapy.

He said the Wounded Warrior Project has helped his family a great deal.

Woods said that the Wounded Warrior Project began assisting Tarte and his family immediately after he was injured.

“They are truly a phenomenal organization,” Woods said of the organization. “By the time Chris arrived in the U.S., he already had clothing, blankets and water bottles that weren’t standard issue. They immediately began helping Natalie also. She had found out she was pregnant with their third child just two weeks before Chris left. It was a difficult and trying time for them, and the Wounded Warriors have helped them each step along the way.”

Woods said the significance of the VAC flight was about more than just the cost that made traveling on a private plane to Russellville easier for Chris and Natalie.

With three kids and a wheelchair, navigating at a traditional airport can be difficult, Woods said.

“The flight and the support are all really powerful and wonderful reminders that people care,” Tarte said.

Tarte said that having the external fixation device removed from his leg allowed him to actually feel and see the progress he has made in one year’s time and gives him hope for the future.

“When the device was on, I never felt like it would ever be over,” Tarte said of the healing process. “Now, I can’t believe how much better I am. Every day I can see and feel improvements.”

The best medicine and therapy Tarte said came from his wife.

“Natalie’s been the biggest help in my recovery,” Tarte said with a big smile as he looked at Natalie. “I’m still the luckiest guy in the world that she said yes.”